Schisandra berries: your skin's anti-aging ally

Schisandra, a member of the five-flavored berry family, is an ancestral medicinal plant prized for its exceptional wealth of bioactive compounds. Renowned for its adaptogenic virtues, this Asian fruit supports the body's vitality while strengthening its resilience in the face of aggression. Beyond its overall benefits, this berry offers remarkable properties for the skin, notably in preventing cutaneous ageing and calming reactive skin. That's why a Quebec company has chosen it as the star ingredient in its moisturizing tonic lotion. Before discovering the details, let's explore the mechanisms of skin aging and the best ways to adapt your routine to the needs of mature skin.

Aging skin: the facts

With age, reduced sebum production and less subcutaneous fat make skin drier and more fragile. As it thins, the epidermis, the skin's superficial layer, becomes thinner and more translucent. This, combined with the loss of collagen and hyaluronic acid, leads to a loss of elasticity and visible sagging, particularly around the neck and eye contour.^{1, 2} 

The reduction in estrogen in menopausal women is partly responsible for the maturing of their skin: loss of skin density and structure, making it more fragile and prone to wrinkles.^{3, 4} 

Over time, our skin undergoes complex transformations that affect both its appearance and its vital functions. Although aging is a natural process, it is influenced by biological and environmental factors. Here are the main changes that mark the evolution of our epidermis over the years.

Structural and physical changes

• Refining the skin: by reducing the thickness of the dermis and epidermis.
• Volume loss: through reduction of the subcutaneous fat layer.
• Loss of elasticity: visible through sagging skin tissue.
• Increased fragility: skin becomes more vulnerable to aggression.

Physiological changes

• Dehydration and dryness: Impaired skin barrier and reduced sebum production.
• Decreased sensitivity: Decreased number of nerve endings.
• Poor thermal regulation: reduction in sweat glands and blood vessels, limiting resistance to heat.
• UV vulnerability: lower melanocyte count, weakening natural protection against the sun.

Visible signs of sun exposure (photoaging)

• Appearance of wrinkles: Formation of fine or deep furrows.
• Pigmentation disorders: presence of brown spots (lentigos), red spots or irregular skin tone.
• Modification of skin texture: Texture becomes rough to the touch.
• Pathological risks: Significantly increased risk of developing skin cancer. 

Although a distinction is often made between intrinsic (biological) aging and extrinsic (environmental) aging, the two processes are intimately linked. The natural weakening of the skin's structure makes it more vulnerable to external aggressions, creating a cumulative effect in which environmental factors, such as the sun, amplify and accelerate the visible signs of time.⁵

How do you adapt your skin care routine as you age? 

Mature skin needs the right care to age well. And while certain nuances apply on an individual level, these points form the basis of a routine for mature skin.

The adaptation of the routine is designed to achieve four specific results:

Correct sagging and drooping.

Intensely moisturize to counteract increased dryness.

Even out the complexion by treating pigmentation spots and redness.

Protect against external aggressions (pollution, UV). 

Adopt a specific routine structure

It is advisable to have a differentiated morning and evening routine.

Morning: focus on protection and radiance

• Gentle cleaning
• A tonic rich in antioxidants
• Appropriate moisturizing (serum and cream)
• And finish with sun protection

Evening: Focus on repair and nutrition

• Gentle make-up remover
• A tonic rich in antioxidants
• Nourishing serum
• Nourishing night cream (richer than day cream)

Essential protective gestures

Gentle cleaning

It's crucial to cleanse the skin without damaging the cutaneous barrier, which becomes more fragile with age.

Sun protection (SPF 50)

This is an essential step in preventing the effects of UV rays.

Reinforcing the cutaneous barrier

Use skin care products combining hyaluronic acid and ceramides to maintain hydration.

Avoid irritating ingredients

Here is a list of ingredients that should be avoided because they are both irritating to the skin and disruptive to overall health:

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) - dry, irritated skin
• Phthalates - endocrine disruptors
• Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol - irritates the skin
• Fragrances - endocrine disruptors
• Parabens - endocrine disruptors
• Alcohol - dries, irritates and disrupts the skin's natural pH balance⁶
• Butyl hydroxytoluene (BHT) (and butyl hydroxyanisole [BHA]) - endocrine disruptors
• Diethanolamine (DEA) and other ethanolamines - skin and respiratory irritants, carcinogenic
• Petrolatum and petroleum distillates - possibly carcinogenic
• Phenoxyethanol - toxic to blood and liver
• Siloxanes and other silicones - toxic⁷

Choosing formulas based on ingredients that are clean, healthy and suitable for our skin, our health and the environment is the first step towards a noble mission: that of "ageing well", with a clear conscience.

Schisandra berries and their benefits for the skin

Schisandra is one of the few plants to possess all "five flavors", reflecting its extremely rich chemical composition. For hundreds of years, this berry has been very popular with Asian women for their skin care, making it suppler, softer and more radiant.

Here are the different properties that make this berry a panacea for anti-aging skin care:

• Moisturizing and balancing properties
• Anti-inflammatory and soothing properties
• Antioxidant property (Protective shield)
• Adaptogenic properties (skin resilience)
• Astringent and smoothing properties
• Stimulates elasticity and firmness
• Anti-pollution and detoxifying action
• Smoothing, stain-resistant action

Moisturizing and balancing properties

Thanks to its polysaccharides, schisandra doesn't just rehydrate dry skin. It works deep down to rebalance the liquids that irrigate the various skin layers, ensuring long-lasting suppleness.⁸

Anti-inflammatory and soothing properties

Particularly rich in lignans, schisandra is an ally for sensitive or irritation-prone skin. By calming inflammation at source, it visibly reduces redness and soothes sensations of discomfort and itching. A precious ally for skin prone to couperose.

Antioxidant property (Protective shield)

Its high concentration of polyphenols neutralizes free radicals, the unstable molecules responsible for premature aging. It thus offers essential protection against environmental stresses such as UV rays and pollution.

Adaptogenic properties (skin resilience)

Whether consumed or applied topically, the synergy of this berry's lignans improves the skin's ability to adapt to aggression. It strengthens the resilience of the body and tissues to stress of all kinds, helping the skin to remain stable despite changes in climate or fatigue.

Astringent and smoothing properties

Thanks to the natural presence of tannins, schisandra extract promotes tissue tightening and firming. The appearance of pores is reduced, leaving skin with a finer, smoother, more even texture.

Stimulates elasticity and firmness

Through the action of its precious lignans, the extract stimulates the skin's support proteins. Used regularly, it revitalizes the epidermis for a more youthful, dynamic and radiant appearance.⁹

Anti-pollution and detoxifying action

Its bioactive compounds also stimulate endogenous antioxidant production, helping cells to eliminate toxins accumulated during the day. By purifying the epidermis of heavy metal and smoke residues, schisandra prevents blotchy complexion and skin fatigue.

Smoothing, stain-resistant action

By regulating melanin production thanks to lignans, it helps prevent the appearance of pigmentation spots and blurs uneven skin tone, leaving skin clearer and more radiant.

Incorporating schisandra berry into your daily skincare routine allows you to benefit from these properties in a targeted way. It's a complete ingredient that doesn't just treat a single symptom, but accompanies the skin as a whole for healthy, long-lasting results.

Kähma moisturizing toner from Revelox 

It was in 2017 that Revelox began to expand, designing anti-aging supplements and cosmetics, driven by a holistic approach to "aging well", both inside and out. This mission, at the heart of every formula, is embodied in the Kähma range: all-natural, eco-responsible solutions proudly produced in Quebec. Drawing on the science of skin resilience offered by schisandra berries, Revelox has designed its moisturizing toner as a synergy of carefully selected ingredients. Its formulation has been precisely designed to meet the specific needs of mature and sensitive skin. Here's how this product from Quebec aligns with your routine's need for adaptation.

Reinforces the skin barrier

The lotion contains ceramides and olive squalane. These lipids mimic those naturally present in the skin to "reciment" the epidermis, restoring the hydrolipidic film and preserving its elasticity. This protects the skin against pollution and irritants, while preventing moisture loss. Olive squalane balances sebum production, making skin more supple, soft and radiant, while reducing the appearance of pores and wrinkles.

Deep moisturizing and plumping effect

The lotion incorporates a hyaluronic acid complex for optimal hydration that helps support skin elasticity and tone. By capturing water, it restores volume to tissues and smoothes fine dehydration lines right from the toning stage for plumped, rejuvenated, healthy-looking skin. Hyaluronic acid, while suitable for the most sensitive and parched epidermis, supports cell renewal for smoother, firmer skin.

Anti-aging and radiance thanks to Schisandra

A genuine ally against dullness and pigmentation spots, organic extract of schisandra berries is a multifunctional active ingredient capable of meeting the complex needs of mature skin. Thanks to its antioxidant and adaptogenic properties, it acts in depth to soothe sensitive skin, reduce redness linked to couperose and regulate melanin to even out skin tone. By stimulating firmness and elasticity while providing a detoxifying action against pollution, this complete ingredient leaves a real impression of softness, suppleness and long-lasting hydration.

Respect for skin fragility

Unlike conventional toners, which are often too irritating, this lotion is alcohol-free, fragrance-free and paraben-free. It prepares the skin to receive serums without creating additional irritation.

In conclusion

To care for the skin, our body's largest organ, it's important to choose formulas made with noble, healthy ingredients that understand the real needs of each stage of life.

Kähma moisturizing toner from Revelox is an essential bridge in your routine: beyond its freshness, it provides the bricks (olive squalanes and ceramides), water (hyaluronic acid) and shields (schisandra) needed to slow down the aging cycle. With this formula, your skin will be soothed, moisturized and radiant! 

About the author

Laurence Couture-Dubé, ND.A.

Naturopath certified with ANAQ

Supporting women as a whole: Vitality & Female Hormonal Balance - Digestion & Microbiota - Fertility & Perinatality

laurence.couturedube@gmail.com

www.centrelespace.ca

819-918-6709

References 

1. Andréewitch Claire, Mes petites Routines Beauté Glow pour rayonner naturellement, Hachette livre (Marabout), 2022, 126 pages
2. Séguin Shirley, Summer 2020 - No. 235, The best ingredients for beautiful skin all year round, Vitalité Québec
3. Verdon Johanne N.D., Il était une fois la ménopause, Les Éditions Publistar, 2003, 372 pages
4. https://www.merckmanuals.com/fr-ca/accueil/troubles-cutan%C3%A9s/biologie-de-la-peau/structure-et-fonction-de-la-peau
5. https://www.jfg-clinic.com/les-hormones-quels-impacts-sur-la-peau
6. https://www.msdmanuals.com/fr/accueil/troubles-cutan%C3%A9s/biologie-de-la-peau/effets-du-vieillissement-sur-la-peauBy Julia Benedetti, MD, Harvard Medical School, revised by Karen McKoy, MD, MPH, Harvard Medical School
7. https://www.dermatologieconferences.ca/ingredients-a-eviter-dans-les-soins-de-la-peau
8. https://www.protegez-vous.ca/sante-et-alimentation/cremes-corps/les-ingredients-a-eviter-dans-les-cremes-hydratantes 9. https://fr.biowayorganicinc.com/info/is-organic-schisandra-extract-good-for-skin-he-17226095621563392.html